the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air: a weather balloon rising high into the atmosphere.
this medium at a given place: the warm, dry atmosphere of the Joshua tree's natural environment.
Astronomy. the gaseous envelope surrounding a heavenly body: The white ovals seen in Saturn's atmosphere could be intense storms.
Chemistry. any gaseous envelope or medium: The ether was treated with a sulfate in an atmosphere of coal gas.
a conventional unit of pressure, the normal pressure of the air at sea level, about 14.7 pounds per square inch (101.3 kilopascals), equal to the pressure exerted by a column of mercury 29.92 inches (760 millimeters) high. Abbreviation: atm.
a surrounding or pervading mood, environment, or influence: an atmosphere of impending war; a very tense atmosphere.
the dominant mood or emotional tone of a work of art, as of a play or novel: the chilly atmosphere of a ghost story.
a distinctive quality, as of a place; character: The old part of town has lots of atmosphere.
verb (used with object),at·mos·phered,at·mos·pher·ing.
to give an atmosphere to: The author had cleverly atmosphered the novel for added chills.
Origin of atmosphere
From the New Latin word atmosphaera, dating back to 1630–40. See atmo-, -sphere
historical usage of atmosphere
Atmosphere has a very simple etymology: it comes from New Latin atmosphaera, a compound noun composed of Greek atmós “vapor, steam, odor” and sphaîra “ball, globe, terrestrial or planetary sphere, eyeball, boxing gloves.” Neither Greek noun has a reliable etymology. The earliest sense, from the mid-1600s, is found in early scientific writing, referring to “the gaseous envelope surrounding a heavenly body.” Figurative senses developed later: first “a surrounding or pervading mood,” referring to mental or psychological environment, in the late 1700s, and then, “a distinctive quality, as of a place; character,” referring to physical environment.
As landscapes burn and release carbon dioxide, it helps trap more heat in the atmosphere.
What wildfires in Brazil, Siberia, and the US West have in common|Lili Pike|September 17, 2020|Vox
The team thinks the nitrogen atmosphere was helpful because it’s less corrosive than oxygen.
Microsoft Had a Crazy Idea to Put Servers Under Water—and It Totally Worked|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|September 17, 2020|Singularity Hub
Razing forests and peatlands unleashes carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in calamitous amounts.
The Environmental Headache in Your Shampoo - Issue 90: Something Green|Anastasia Bendebury & Michael Shilo DeLay|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
A sample return mission could be possible, in which a spacecraft flies into the atmosphere and bottles up some gas to bring back to Earth for laboratory analysis.
We need to go to Venus as soon as possible|Neel Patel|September 16, 2020|MIT Technology Review
It felt as if the atmosphere itself was burning right above our heads, and we were trapped beneath it.
For millions of Americans, the wildfires made climate change real|Michael J. Coren|September 15, 2020|Quartz
The atmosphere on campuses has gotten repressive enough that comedian Chris Rock no longer plays colleges.
How the PC Police Threaten Free Speech|Nick Gillespie|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There is a long history of official anti-clericalism in Mexico, but the atmosphere in Tierra Caliente goes far beyond that.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
However, several probes—most recently the Curiosity rover—have measured methane in the Martian atmosphere.
Methane on Mars: Life or Just Gas?|Matthew R. Francis|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Over a decade, his teaching often took place in an atmosphere of what one cadet called “wanton disrespect.”
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Without it in the atmosphere, the Earth would be a barren, frozen wasteland.
Extreme Weather? Blame the End Times|Jay Michaelson|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This clears the atmosphere, so to speak, and we know who were after.
The Motor Boys on the Wing|Clarence Young
There was nothing in the state of the atmosphere to attract special attention.
A History of Epidemics in Britain, Volume II (of 2)|Charles Creighton
Mountains help to cause movement and change in the atmosphere.
The Story of the Hills|H. N. Hutchinson
The atmosphere of an arbitrary regime engenders almost always "demonomania."
Contemporary Russian Novelists|Serge Persky
I apologised for my intrusion; but the atmosphere of the place was not genial.
The Charm of Ireland|Burton Egbert Stevenson
British Dictionary definitions for atmosphere
atmosphere
/ (ˈætməsˌfɪə) /
noun
the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth or any other celestial bodySee also troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere
the air or climate in a particular placethe atmosphere was thick with smoke
a general pervasive feeling or moodan atmosphere of elation
the prevailing tone or mood of a novel, symphony, painting, or other work of art
a special mood or character associated with a place
any local gaseous environment or mediuman inert atmosphere
a unit of pressure; the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at 0°C at sea level. 1 atmosphere is equivalent to 101 325 newtons per square metre or 14.72 pounds per square inchAbbreviation: at, atm
The blanket of gas on the surface of a planet or satellite.
notes for atmosphere
The atmosphere of the Earth is roughly eighty percent nitrogen and twenty percent oxygen, with traces of other gases. (See ionosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere.)
The mixture of gases surrounding the Earth or other celestial body, held in place by gravity. It forms distinct layers at different heights. The Earth's atmosphere consists, in ascending order, of the troposphere (containing 90% of the atmosphere's mass), the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the thermosphere, and the exosphere. The atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) and plays a major role in the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the carbon cycle. See more at exospheremesospherestratospherethermospheretroposphere.
A unit of pressure equal to the pressure of the air at sea level, about 14.7 pounds per square inch, or 1,013 millibars.